Peanut butter and raspberry mini cakes and the fantastic "The Night Of"

Weeks ago I told you I had dropped River because it made me feel miserable – I wanted something to cheer me up, not to bring me down.
Cut to a couple of days later and I started watching The Night Of – yes, I know, I don’t even understand myself, I don’t expect you to. :)

What an amazing TV show. What a fantastic cast – John Turturro was born to play John Stone, and I found him even more perfect for the part after reading that the first choice to play the lawyer had been James Gandolfini, and after Gandolfini died Robert DeNiro got cast. The movie gods were really watching this show, since that failed too. In my head those two actors would never be able to do John Stone justice – they lack the frailty that is so important in the character. I can’t imagine Galdonfini, so big, tall and with that characteristic loud and strong voice playing John Stone.

I can’t imagine Gandolfini doing what Philip Seymour Hoffman did with his Truman Capote.

I loved the show as a whole – writing, directing, cast, everything was beautifully put together, so perfectly as I hadn’t seen in quite a while (Breaking Bad comes to my mind, as you can imagine). Yes, the show was depressingly sad and dark and each night I would go to sleep with it engraved in my mind, but it was so great I could not drop it as I had done with River. Having some chocolate around for after each episode of The Night Of is the tip I give you – these mini cakes are a good idea, too (and the raspberries can be replaced by pieces of dark chocolate for a nice variation of the recipe).

Peanut butter and raspberry mini cakes
slightly adapted from this cookbook

3 eggs
200g smooth peanut butter
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons canola oil
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
100ml whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons (30g) all purpose flour
about ½ cup fresh or frozen (unthawed) raspberries – I used 4 in each mini cake

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Generously butter and then flour a 12-hole muffin pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and the peanut butter until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, oil, baking soda, baking powder, salt, milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the flour. Divide the mixture between the holes of the muffin pan. Top the batter with the raspberries, dividing them among the cakes, gently prodding them into their middles.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden and puffed and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the cakes from the pan and transfer to the rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream if you want.

Makes 12

Orange rhubarb giant financier, a TV show and beautiful things

So yes, I am officially a softie. :)

I was crying easily for days and feeling very emotional. Then I decided to start watching a new TV show, but it could not be Stranger Things for everyone had been talking about it so much I was already fed up with it (plus all those spoilers on Facebook, why to people do these things?).

I went for River because I adore Stellan Skarsgård (ever since he had loads of hair in Breaking the Waves). I watched the pilot and indeed, it is an excellent show, but I felt so miserable at the end I could not bring myself to watch the second episode – I just told my husband: “let’s please watch one episode of The Blacklist now?” – I needed some of Raymond Reddington’s witty lines to improve my mood.

Beautiful things improve my mood, too, and I felt incredibly happy when my husband arrived home with a bunch of rhubarb stalks – he definitely knows my favorite kinds of gifts. ;)

I ended up making two recipes with the rhubarb, both delicious, but decided to share with you the most beautiful of them: the giant financier I made using a rectangular tart pan – I was very pleased when I got it out of the oven, it looked amazing!
I used Bill Granger’s friand recipe, one that already worked so well with cherries and pears, and added orange zest for zing. It was delicious, with a nice texture and wonderful flavor. On top of tasting great, the giant financier looked beautiful, so I had a slice of it with a cup of coffee while watching Red Reddington and I was happy again.

Orange rhubarb giant financier
adapted from Bill Granger’s friands

140g (5oz) trimmed rhubarb, cut into sticks, about 8x1cm (3x½ in) each
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
finely zest of 2 oranges
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (160g) icing sugar, sifted
1 cup (100g) almond meal
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
6 egg whites
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons Cointreau – optional

Place the rhubarb in a bowl and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Mix lightly, then set aside for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Generously butter a 30x10cm (12x4 in) rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom.

In a large bowl, mix the orange zest and the icing sugar and rub with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the almond meal, flour and salt. Stir in the egg whites until just combined. Stir in the melted butter and Cointreau (if using).

Pour the batter in the pan and smooth the top. Drain the rhubarb sticks and place them gently on top of the batter, without pressing them onto the batter.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the financier comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Carefully unmold to serve.
Financiers are best eaten the day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Serves 8-10

Banana peanut muffins

As much as I try to stick to the ingredients I have at home when baking, that doesn’t always happen: I sometimes cannot resist some fruits at the grocery store or buying another bar of chocolate and/or a jar of jam (I was much worse in the past, if that is any consolation). :)

It is like buying another book when you are not even close to finish reading the ones you already have (that, luckily, I no longer do). But the ingredients… I sometimes give in. :)

Last weekend, however, I reached for a batch of homemade vegetable stock in my freezer and saw a couple of bananas there. There was another ripe banana in the counter, so I decided to bake with them. The idea started as a cake, but changed to muffins when I saw these on Olive magazine – I had each and every ingredient at home and that made me feel like a winner. :D

On top of using the bananas, I was able to go through my giant peanut butter jar a little bit more, use up the remaining peanuts from this recipe and also the peanut meal I found in a shop weeks ago (and of course I had to bring it home). :D Don’t worry if you don’t have any peanut meal at hand: the original recipe calls for almond meal, so you can use either one.

Banana peanut muffins
slightly adapted from the always great Olive magazine

1 ¾ cups (245g) all purpose flour
2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
3 tablespoons peanut meal (finely ground peanuts)
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (78g) demerara sugar
3 ripe bananas, being 2 mashed and 1 chopped
100g smooth peanut butter
2 eggs
½ cup (120ml) buttermilk*
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
handful of toasted peanuts (salted are fine)

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a standard 12-hole muffin pan with muffin cases.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, peanut meal and sugar. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 mashed bananas, the peanut butter, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until well mixed. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a fork – do not overmix or your muffins will be tough; muffin batter is supposed to be lumpy, not smooth like cake batter. Stir in the chopped banana.

Divide the mixture between the cases and sprinkle with the peanuts – press them slightly with your fingers so they adhere to the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the muffins from the pan and transfer them to the rack. Serve warm or let them cool completely.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 12

Yogurt, orange and almond cake with white chocolate and yogurt icing

I am completely drawn to beautiful food photos and I have a list of favorite people whose recipes I trust completely, so a couple of years ago, when I discovered Bill Granger’s column on The Independent I was really happy: his recipes always work and taste delicious and the photos posted on the paper website are truly gorgeous.

I found this cake recipe there and was curious to try it since I called for no butter and no oil. I twisted it around a little bit, but still ended up with a very moist and tender cake, perfumed with oranges. The icing goes a bit to the sweet side, but I am a fan of white chocolate, so no problem to me – if you are a white chocolate hater (as most of my coworkers seem to be), feel free to make a simple glaze with icing sugar and orange juice, it will make the cake shine, too.

Yogurt, orange and almond cake with white chocolate and yogurt icing
slightly adapted from the always great Bill Granger

Cake:
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
½ cup (50g) almond meal
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
2 eggs
170g plain yogurt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons Cointreau (optional)

For the topping:
¼ cup (60g) plain yogurt, room temperature
100g white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
2 tablespoons icing sugar
¼ cup (35g) whole almonds, toasted, cooled and then coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°C. Butter a 20cm (8in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well.

Cake: in a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, rub sugar and orange zest together until sugar is fragrant. Add the eggs and using the mixer whisk until thick and creamy. Beat in the vanilla and the Cointreau (if using). On low speed, mix in the yogurt. Fold in the dry ingredients and pour batter in the prepared pan. Bake for around 40 minutes, until the cake is risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan onto a wire rack.

Icing: whisk in the yogurt into the chocolate until smooth. Sift in the sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes, or until it reaches a spreadable consistency. Unmold the cake, carefully peel off the paper and place onto a serving place. Spread with the icing and top with the chopped almonds to serve.

Serves 8

Nutty butter cookies and a wandering mind

As I was driving home from work days ago, in the middle of a massive traffic jam, I started listening to The Wallflowers and that led to a trip down memory lane: in the far, far away year of 1996, I spent months listening to Bringing Down the Horse, a CD I bought because I fell in love with One Headlight the minute I heard the song for the first time.

So there I was, driving in the rain listening to 6th Avenue Heartache (my second favorite track of that album), and my mind wandered a bit and I thought about the music video clip, so beautiful, directed by David Fincher, one of my all-time favorite directors.

One band, one song, one video clip, one favorite director.

One good thing leading to another, like my purchase of a huge jar of peanut butter leading to a bunch of recipes made with it, like the super easy fudge I posted the other day and these cookies. These cookies are delicious – the oats are toasted in butter before being added to the cookie dough and that, combined with the demerara sugar that I decided to use instead of the granulated one, gives the cookies the most delicious caramel flavor (and I added a bit of whole wheat flour to help with the nuttiness of the whole thing).

Nutty butter cookies
slightly adapted from the always fabulous Martha

¾ cup (170g/1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened – divided use
1 cup (90g) rolled oats
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/3 cup (67g) demerara sugar
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
½ cup peanut butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (70g) whole roasted salted peanuts

Melt ¼ cup (½ stick/56g) of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oats, and cook, stirring, until toasted, 5-7 minutes. Spread oat mixture on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Let cool completely. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together remaining ½ cup (113g/1 stick) butter and the sugars until pale and creamy. Add egg, and beat until combined. Add nut butter and vanilla, then beat on medium speed until well combined.
Add oat mixture and peanuts, and mix on low speed until combined. Add flour mixture, and mix just until combined.

Drop 2 leveled tablespoons of dough per cookie onto the prepared pans, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until they’re golden-brown around the edges. Cool completely in the pans
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Makes about 28

Oh-so-easy peanut butter fudge

Like many of you reading me right now (I am sure), I am the kind of person who has fun at the grocery store and supermarkets – I know that for many people going to such places is one very cruel way of torture, but I absolutely love it. And then there are the supermarkets where you find huge packages of products – a whole new level of fun! My heart is filled with joy when I think that in my cupboard right now there is a 5kg-package of sugar just waiting to become cake/bread/dessert on the weekend. :)

I do, also, buy things that I use much less than I use sugar, like peanut butter, for example, but how could I resist buying an 800g-jar of pb for the same price I’d seen a half this size jar? Naturally I brought it home and now I have been making some (or should I say many?) delicious recipes with it, like this fugde: it is really, really easy and can be put together in a matter of moments. You just need some patience to let it set before cutting it into small squares. I thought I would have to send these to friends in order not to eat them all myself, but my husband tried one and it was impossible to stop him from eating the whole thing himself – the same husband that doesn’t like sweets. :D

Oh-so-easy peanut butter fudge
slightly adapted from Lucy Cufflin

¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
1 cup (200g) demerara sugar
3 tablespoons whole milk
generous 1/3 cup (100g) smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
¾ cup (105g) icing sugar, sifted – you might not use all of it

Line a 20x10cm (8x4in) loaf pan with baking paper.
Put the butter, sugar and milk in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Stir very gently until the all the sugar has dissolved.
Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil and, without stirring, cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter, vanilla extract and salt. When well mixed, gradually add the icing sugar, beating with a wooden spoon – the mixture should be smooth and creamy, not dry (if too dry, add a few drops of water and stir vigorously).
Spoon the fudge into the prepared pan, press it down using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon and level the surface. Leave to cool, uncovered, for 4-5 hours or overnight.
Lift out the fudge in its paper and cut into neat, even squares – it can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Makes 36

Cranberry and peanut oatmeal cookies

One quick look at the blog’s recipe index and one can quickly learn that I love oatmeal cookies – I have made them in many different ways, with many different add on ingredients, and they are always a crowd pleaser (not to mention are great to have on hand for a snack between meals).

There are many recipes on this blog, and today I bring you another – these are delicious, and the salty and crunchy peanuts go very well with the sweet and tender cranberries. I highly recommend you bake these if you like oatmeal cookies like I do – and the peanuts and cranberries can be swapped by other nuts and dried fruits – , but I feel the obligation to tell you that of all the oatmeal cookies on this blog the ones I made for last year’s Christmas series are my favorites. :)

From a cookbook I haven’t used much and I hope to change that – fingers crossed here for the cold weather to finally come our way.

Cranberry and peanut oatmeal cookies
slightly adapted from this cookbook

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch table salt
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 ¼ cups (112g) old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup (85g) dried cranberries
½ cup (70g) whole salted, roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until creamy and light in color, 1-2 minutes. Add the egg, mixing well, and then add the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Add them to the butter-sugar mixture along with the oats and mix on low just until combined. Add the dried cranberries and peanuts. Mix on low briefly until well distributed.

Drop 2 leveled tablespoons of dough per cookie onto the prepared pans, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until they’re golden-brown around the edges but still soft. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Makes about 22

Port cookies to celebrate Leo

My days are still super busy, and I hope things slow down a little in the weeks to come, but I am still making super quick recipes at home (and there are days I don’t make anything at all) and I am also still writing very short posts, as you can see. :)

However, there is one thing I could not leave aside, which is the fact that my beloved Leonardo Di Caprio, or “Leozinho”, as I call him, has finally won an Oscar, after so many years watching less worthy actors take home the award (not to mention the wonderful performances that were not nominated). The Internet almost collapsed and I jumped on my bed (and there were people a lot less subtle than me). :)

So congrats to Leo! And because of that I am posting cookies – not any kind of cookies, but cookies made with wine, because it is time to celebrate. \0/

Port cookies
slightly adapted from Rita Lobo

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (25g) almond meal
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
200g unsalted butter, chopped, room temperature
¼ cup (60ml) Port wine
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
icing sugar, for dusting the cookies

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place flour, almond meal, granulated sugar and salt and mix on low speed to combine. Add the butter and mix on low speed until a dough begins to form. Drizzle the wine and vanilla over the mixture, mix again on low just until a dough forms, but avoid overmixing.

Roll 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie into balls and place onto prepared sheets 2.5cm (1in) apart. Gently flatten each ball. Bake for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven, transfer sheet to a wire rack and dust the hot cookies with the icing sugar. After 5 minutes, slide the paper with the cookies onto the rack and cool completely.

Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Makes about 42

Spiced almonds

The year is almost over (and I am hoping that 2016 is better than 2015, please Universe, make it happen!) so instead of writing a very long post complaining about the weather or anything else I will give you a recipe that is very quick to make, tastes great with drinks and will be a nice addition to your New Year’s Eve party – or any other party, actually. :)
I used almonds because it was what I had in my freezer, but any other nut would go well here, or even a mix of nuts.

Happy 2016!

Spiced almonds
from the always great Delicious UK

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon Tabasco
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
salt, to taste
200g almonds, or the nuts of your preference

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, sauces, spices and salt. Add the nuts and turn to coat evenly. Spread mixture onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, then stir. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir again then tip onto kitchen paper to remove excess grease. Cool, then serve.

The nuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Serves 4

Almond gingerbread puffs

I work for a Swiss company, and some of my coworkers have discovered how much I love sweets – every now and then I get Lindt chocolates, which make my days a lot sweeter. :)

I have to say that I love getting food as gifts – I believe that food = love, and I love giving food as gifts, too, especially at this time of the year. Cookies are easy to make and to package, most people like them therefore they are the perfect present. These almond puffs taste delicious and they get more intense as days go by, especially if kept in an airtight container, but they might not last that long. :)

Almond gingerbread puffs
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Delicious magazine

1 cup minus 1 tablespoon (140g) almond meal
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
generous pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Amaretto (optional)
about 3 tablespoons icing sugar, for dusting the cookies

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond meal, flour, spices and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and honey until light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla and the Amaretto. On low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix just until a dough forms – it mixture is too dry, add 1 teaspoon of water and mix again.

Using leveled 2 tablespoons of dough per cookies, roll balls and place them onto prepared baking sheets 2.5cm (1in) apart. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden. Sift icing sugar over the cookies and return them to the oven for 2 more minutes. Cool on sheets over a wire rack.

The cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Makes about 30

Gingerbread and peanut caramel bars

Having rediscovered the pleasure I used to feel in the kitchen I keep having ideas and imagining things to cook and bake – I can’t wait for the weekends, not only to get some rest but also to prepare something tasty. I made a broccolini pesto the other day that turned out wonderful – even my not-so-into-pesto husband liked it a lot. But right now we are in Christmas mode around here, therefore I bring you these bars: I saw them on the latest issue of Donna Hay magazine and since I am a sucker for gingerbread, caramel and peanuts I had to make them.

They might seem a bit time-consuming, but it is just a matter of respecting the fridge time for each layer – there is also a serious risk of eating the entire saucepan of caramel before pouring it over the gingerbread base, but that is a completely different matter. ;)

Gingerbread and peanut caramel bars
from the always delicious Donna Hay Magazine

Base:
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
90g light brown sugar
1/3 cup golden syrup – I used corn syrup
1/3 cup molasses
375g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
175g unsalted butter, softened
220g light brown sugar
½ cup golden syrup
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
200g unsalted toasted peanuts

Lightly butter a 20x30cm baking pan (use a deep pan, or make only 3/4 of the caramel recipe), line it with foil leaving an overhand on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup, molasses, flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt and vanilla and beat just until a dough starts to form. Press the mixture into the prepared pan, prick it all over with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Bake the gingerbread for about 15 minutes or until golden – remove from the oven but keep it on.

Make the caramel: place butter, sugar and golden syrup in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted. Bring to the boil then cook for 8-10 minutes or until mixture reaches 140°C (285°F) on a sugar thermometer. Carefully add cream – mixture will spit furiously – and stir until dissolved, then cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in the peanuts, remove from the heat and pour over the gingerbread base. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until caramel is slightly set around the edges (caramel will set as it cools). Cool for 15 minutes, then refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars to serve. Keep the bars in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Makes 24

Gingerbread honey cake because Christmas is coming

I was sitting home the other day, thinking about Christmas and how it is my favorite time of the year. I thought about my Christmas tree, and how I would be decorating it in a few days and felt miserable because this year I would not be able to prepare the Christmas recipes for the blog like I’d done in previous years.

I decided that there would be at least one recipe for the Christmas series this year, went to the kitchen and baked this cake – actually, I baked some cookies, too. ;)

This gingerbread cake is super tender, smells and tastes delicious and will perfume your entire home while in the oven and even after cooled down. It is, in fact, a loaf cake, but the one I used was a bit smaller and I ended up with a loaf + a small round cake (I used a 1-cup capacity pan). Since the mini cake looked so adorable that was the one I used for the photo – I hope the cake’s cuteness entices you to bake it, too, and you can thank me later. ;)

Gingerbread honey cake
slightly adapted from the beautiful Home Baked: More Than 150 Recipes for Sweet and Savory Goodies

85g crystallized ginger
50g crystallized orange peel
220g (1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon) all purpose flour
½ cup (50g) almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
100g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 ¼ cups (300ml) whole milk, room temperature
100g light brown sugar
150ml honey
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon Cointreau (optional)
¼ teaspoon Amaretto (optional)
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 6-cup capacity loaf pan, line it with baking paper leaving an overhang in two opposite sides and butter it as well.

Chop the crystallized ginger and crystallized peel, place in a bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the flour. Set aside.
Combine remaining flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt and spices in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the butter and on low speed mix the ingredients together until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in crystallized ginger and orange peel. In the meantime, heat together over low heat milk, brown sugar and honey until honey and sugar are dissolved (mixture should not get too hot, otherwise it might cook the eggs). Pour over the flour mixture and stir until just combined – do not overmix. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, Cointreau and Amaretto.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully unmold and cool completely over the rack before peeling off the paper.
Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Serves 8-10

Almond, coconut and lime cake

Hello, is there anyone here? :)

It has been a while since I last published a recipe on this blog, and it has been a while since cooked anything new or interesting – I no longer know what baking is, but I’ve told you that already.

Nothing has changed in nearly a month: I’m still working like crazy (and on top of that I have resumed my Spanish classes), I rarely feel like cooking or baking and I don’t think I ever longed for weekends so much in my life before. I hope things get calmer with time and I also hope to be able to go back to cooking, baking and posting here more regularly, for it is something that makes me really happy.

While that doesn’t happen, I hope that after all this time there is still someone reading me for this cake deserves to be shared: it is absolutely delicious, tender and perfumed, and I am sure that I would feel a lot better now if there was still a slice of it around. :)

Almond, coconut and lime cake
slightly adapted from the über beautiful Summer Berries & Autumn Fruits: 120 Sensational Sweet & Savoury Recipes

Cake:
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 limes
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil
1 ¾ cups (175g) almond meal
½ cup (50g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) all purpose fl our
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
4 medium eggs – I used 3 very large eggs, 70g each
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 rounded tablespoons sour cream*

Syrup:
freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes
100ml water
2 ½ tablespoons honey
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a tall 20cm round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter it as well.

Place the sugar and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer and rub with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. Remove from the heat, stir in the olive oil and leave to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond meal, coconut, flour, baking powder and salt.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until they are very thick and pale, tripled in volume and leave a ribbon trail when the whisk is lifted from the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Gently fold the almond mixture, then fold in the butter mixture and sour cream. Pour into the pan, smooth the top and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40-50 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Syrup: in a small saucepan, bring the lime juice, water, honey and sugar to the boil. Continue to bubble steadily until reduced by half and syrupy.
Leave the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Using a wooden skewer, make holes all over the top of the cake, then slowly pour over the syrup, gradually, waiting for each portion to be absorbed by the cake before pouring more. Let cool completely in the pan.

*homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Serve 8-10

Saffron lemon cookies and Claire Danes

Those of you around here for a while know how much I enjoy movies and TV awards – I root for my favorites, hate it when the ones I find untalented and undeserving win and usually go to sleep at 2 in the morning. :)

For a couple of years I saw Claire Danes take home lots of awards for her role in Homeland and I did not quite understand why: I like her, I find her a talented actress and very versatile, too – who doesn't love Angela Chase? –, but those were the years she was going against Glenn and Mireille, and those two certainly deserved taking the awards home – I was rooting for them for Damages and The Killing are deep favorites of mine.

Now that I have started watching Homeland – and got completely addicted to it – I understand all the fuss: Claire is really amazing in it! If at first I did not understand all the awards, now I say “keep them coming!” :)

I’m OK with my favorites not winning as long as the ones who do actually deserve the awards, and now I see that is exactly what happened with Claire Danes; in September my heart will be divided for I would love her to win, just as much as I would love Viola Davis, Elisabeth Moss and Robin Wright – I haven’t watched season 3 of House of Cards yet but I am sure she’s fabulous in it.

As for these cookies, they look plain but they have a very special ingredient in them: saffron (which was the name of a character’s dog in Damages). :) I don’t use it very often for it is an expensive ingredient, but I could not resist trying them in cookies along with lemon and almond – they were delicious! The almond meal gives the cookies a wonderful texture that is why I recommend this recipe even if you don’t have saffron around: I am sure that cardamom would be beautiful here, or nutmeg, for instance.

Saffron lemon cookies
slightly adapted from the beautiful and delicious Annie Bell's Baking Bible: Over 200 triple-tested recipes that you'll want to make again and again

1 cup (100g) almond meal
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 egg
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
20 saffron filaments, ground and mixed with 1 ½ teaspoons boiling water – let it cool before using

In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond meal, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light. Beat in the egg, lemon zest, vanilla and saffron infusion. On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until a dough forms. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Roll 2 teaspoons of dough per cookie into balls and place 5cm (2in) onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden around the edges. Cool on the sheets over a wire rack for 5 minutes then carefully slide the paper with the cookies onto the wire and cool completely.

Makes about 45

Orange and rosemary cake and hoping for the best

Much is said about small joys in life, but today I got myself thinking also about small hopes: things we do hoping for the day (or the week, or the month) to be better.

I entered a shop earlier on today searching for a product that would make my hair shinier and softer without making it greasy (those of you who have oily hair like I do know what I’m talking about). I know it might sound silly or even vain, but that small gesture was done in order to make my day a bit sweeter – when you spend months searching for a new job without any success it is the small things that keep you going, combined with the support from your loved ones. It is putting a pair of comfy socks on a cold day, discovering a great TV show, singing in the shower, making a delicious meal out of whatever is left in the fridge or taking a beautiful cake out of the oven – on those days when frustration gets the best of me I avoid anything else that can disappoint me: those are the days for tried and true recipes, when you need a success to lift the spirit, not the days to try something new that can look (or taste) weird.

On one of those blue days I made my current favorite cake, the moist and delicious recipe by Nigel Slater, but swapped the lemon and thyme for orange and rosemary (I told you I would try to be braver when it comes to rosemary, right?). The flavor combo worked beautifully in cake form as it did in the cookies and the day was saved.

Orange and rosemary cake
slightly adapted from the always fantastic Nigel Slater

Cake:
100g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
100g almond meal
2 teaspoons rosemary leaves, packed
200g granulated sugar
200g unsalted butter, softened
finely grated zest of 2 medium oranges
4 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Syrup:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
juice of the 2 oranges used in the cake batter
1 teaspoon rosemary leaves, packed

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 900g/2lb loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Cake: in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then stir in the almond meal. Set aside. Using a pestle and mortar, crush the rosemary leaves with some of the sugar until the leaves are finely ground and the sugar turns green and perfumed. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, the rosemary sugar, remaining sugar and orange zest until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, gradually mix in the dry ingredients.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

When the cake is almost baked, make the syrup: in a small saucepan, combine the sugar and orange juice. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, add the rosemary and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat (fish out the rosemary right before pouring the syrup over the cake).

As soon as the cake is out of the oven, prick it all over with a toothpick or skewer and gradually pour the syrup, waiting for the cake to absorb it. Cool completely before unmolding and serving.

Serves 6-8

Almond syrup cake and more bad TV news

I apparently spoke too soon, guys – days ago I found out that another one of my favorite TV series has been cancelled. :(

The good thing is I’m not the only one disappointed by the news about Hannibal and like me many others are hoping that the show gets saved by Netflix or some other network – let's hope it works, right, boys? ;)

I’ve loved Hannibal ever since its beginning – how could I not? – and might be a little behind on the episodes because so many other shows have grabbed my attention lately, but it is still one of the best series I’ve seen even though I know it might be a little too graphic for many people – I don’t mind the gore at all because in that case it is absolutely necessary to the story being told, and not only splashed there to shock.

I haven’t baked much lately (which is a shame), but I did make this delicious cake weeks ago and here it is: I know I can be a little too repetitive when it comes to almond cakes – or TV shows ;) – but this one is really special: it tastes delicious and if there’s any syrup left after the cake is gone it is wonderful poured over pancakes or waffles.

Almond syrup cake
slightly adapted from the always gorgeous Donna Hay Magazine

Cake:
3 eggs
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 ¼ cups (125g) almond meal
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
finely grated zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons Amaretto
½ cup (60g) flaked almonds

Syrup:
1 cup (240ml) water
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (60ml) Amaretto

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter it as well.

Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for about 8 minutes or until thick, pale and tripled in volume. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour, baking powder, salt, almond meal, butter, lemon zest and Amaretto. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan over a wire rack while you make the syrup: place water, sugar, vanilla and Amaretto in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until reduced and thickened. Pour ¾ of the hot syrup over the cake gradually, making sure it gets absorbed by the cake before pouring more syrup. Cool completely in the pan, then carefully unmold.

Serve the cake with the remaining syrup.

Serves 8-10

Dulce de leche swirl congo bars

Sometimes I buy cookbooks and wait anxiously for them to arrive by mail only to go through them back and forth countless times without any idea of which recipe to start using them from – I know it sounds stupid, but that is exactly what happens around here.

Then it takes me forever to go back to that cookbook, not because I did not like it but because there were lots of other recipes grabbing my attention in between. I suddenly see the book while looking for something else and take it to the couch with me to go through it back and forth all over again, until I find that makes me run to the kitchen.

I made these bars a long time ago, after making the delicious coconut and pecan bars from the same book, but never posted them – they were scrumptious and were a hit with my former coworkers. I ended up taking a “healthy” route in my baking a while ago and thought that bars made with pecans, chocolate and dulce de leche were a bit too much. While searching for a certain photo I found this picture and thought that it was such a waste not to share this recipe with you – after all, eating a couple of these bars once in a blue moon won’t kill anyone.

While you read the recipe I’ll grab Nancy Baggett’s book and choose something tasty for the weekend. ;)

Dulce de leche swirl congo bars
slightly adapted from the delicious Simply Sensational Cookies

¾ cup (1½ sticks/170g) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 ¼ cups (215g) packed light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 cup (110g) pecans, chopped
1 cup (165g) dark chocolate chips – I used 53% cocoa solids
1 cup dulce de leche

Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 22x32cm (9x13in) baking pan, line it with foil and butter it as well – I used a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, stirring, until melted. Remove from the heat and cool to warm. Stir in the sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla until well blended. One at a time, vigorously stir in the eggs. Stir in the flour just until evenly incorporated. Fold in the nuts and chocolate until evenly distributed.

Spread a generous half of the mixture evenly in the pan. Put evenly spaced heaping tablespoonfuls of the dulce de leche over the batter. Then drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter over the top. Using a table knife held vertically, swirl the two together to produce a slightly rippled effect; don’t blend them too much.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until nicely browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Makes 18

Peanut and white chocolate brownies and the amazing Viola

Back in January I watched the Golden Globes and many of my favorites took awards home – among them was Ruth Wilson, who is absolutely amazing in The Affair, but she was competing head to head with another actress I deeply admire, the über talented Viola Davis. Back then I hadn’t watched How to Get Away with Murder yet but got immediately interested in it.

The show is really that good and each episode ends with a bang that would make my husband and I crazy to know what would happen next – we saw the season finale last night and were like “OMG!!”. Viola is, indeed, superb: the woman can pull anything off, she can play any part. I am still Team Ruth because I think that her character in The Affair is more difficult to play – it is like she portrayed two different characters – but if Viola had taken the GG home I wouldn’t have minded at all.

Gladly a second season has been confirmed for How to Get Away with Murder – enough with the cancellation of my favorite TV shows, really. :)

From a woman that can do no wrong in acting to another who does wonders in the kitchen: Alice Medrich – these peanut and white chocolate brownies are a riff on one of her great recipes and are super delicious!

Peanut and white chocolate brownies
slightly adapted from the amazing Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

10 tablespoons (140g/1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (75g) unsalted roasted peanuts
½ cup (80g) white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

In a medium heatproof bowl, add the butter and set on top of a large sauce pan with barely simmering water. Melt the butter, then add sugar and salt, and stir until well combined. Next add the cocoa powder and stir until mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the water and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the peanuts and white chocolate. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares.

Makes 16

Peanut butter cookies and great music

I have been baking cookies like crazy lately, I could say it has become an addiction: every time I see a cookie recipe online or in a cookbook I want to make it, and I pretty much do it most of times – luckily for me my family likes cookies as much as I do and I don’t have to eat them all myself. :D

There is something else I’ve been obsessing about these days and it’s not food: Ra Ra Riot – I’ve been listening to one of their songs for ages, so last week I decided to search for their songs on Spotify and I became a fan for the songs are really good and they have a cover of one of my all time favorite songs.

I’ll admit it that when it comes to music I am a bit of a coward: if I like a song too much, I avoid listening to other songs by the same singer/band out of fear of getting disappointed (you can go ahead and laugh now). :)

I was brave enough this time – it’s taken me what, two and a half years? – and it paid off: the other songs by Ra Ra Riot are amazing, and my favorites are “Beta Love”, “Angel, Please” and “For Once” – I’ve been listening to them nonstop while cooking and baking, and one of the results were these delicious and super easy to make peanut butter cookies, a recipe from one of the most beautiful cookbooks I own.

Peanut butter cookies
slightly adapted from the über beautiful The Baking Collection (The Australian Women's Weekly)

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
125g unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup (70g) crunchy peanut butter
¾ cup (130g) light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (75g) roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the egg. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients, then stir in the peanuts.

Roll 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie into balls, place them 5cm (2in) apart onto prepared sheets and flatten each ball lightly with a floured fork.
Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden around the edges. Cool in the sheets over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the paper with the cookies onto the rack and cool completely.

Makes about 40

Almond sablés - delicious simplicity

I guess that the simplicity of certain things can be very surprising sometimes, and that is a good thing – while searching for a good cookie recipe, I bumped into Alice Medrich’s cookbook on cookies and since the woman can do no wrong I decided to bake one of her recipes. I had chocolate in mind, but I decided to give her almond sablés a go for I had a package of almond meal in the fridge.

As I read the recipe and saw that Alice’s suggestion of sandwiching the cookies with dulce de leche I thought of the dulce de leche left from making the churros cake and knew that was the right recipe to try.

I prepped the dough, formed it into cylinders and placed them in the fridge, always thinking of how simple those cookies would be. I baked them a day later and as the first batch cooled on the wire rack their simplicity became more visible – “yes, this is a plain cookie”, I thought, no chocolate, no spices, no dried fruit. But as I took the first bite I was in awe: they tasted so delicious I could not believe it! Yes, they were simple, but they were amazing, too. The nutty flavor from the almonds turned them into something extra special.

I sandwiched some of the cookies with dulce de leche and they were indeed delicious that way, but don’t worry about that: the cookies taste great on their own, too, and pair beautifully with a cup of coffee.

Almond sablés
slightly adapted from the wonderful Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 cup (100g) almond meal
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened, chopped in chunks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons Amaretto (optional)
270g all purpose flour

Place sugar, salt and almond meal in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on medium speed just to combine. Add the butter, vanilla extract and Amaretto and mix on medium speed until creamy. Add the flour and mix on low just until a dough begins to form. Finish stirring with a spatula.

Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in the fridge until very firm, about 4 hours (the dough logs can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.)

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper - I like Beyond Gourmet a lot.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Cut log into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 12-14 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets.

Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature. They can be sandwiched with dulce de leche, if desired.

Makes about 50 cookies